Alicia Keys, Michael Stipe and other celebs will protest Brett Kavanaugh
WASHINGTON: The protests of the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court are about to get starrier: A group of celebs, including Alicia Keys, Michael Stipe and Norman Lear, are lending their support to a gathering that will take place outside the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse on Thursday afternoon. The Bravery Is Contagious event is backed by musicians, actors and other artistes, including husbandandduo Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard, Erykah Badu and Esperanza Spalding. The website for the protest — which is organised by the Party Majority PAC — encourages people to call their senators and lists the number for the Senate’s main switchboard, as well as the direct office numbers for Senators Susan Collins, R-Maine, Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Joe Manchin III, D-West Virginia. With Republicans holding a 51to- 49 majority in the Senate, the four senators are considered key votes in the Kavanaugh confirmation.
“We anticipate a vote on the Senate floor to confirm Brett Kavanaugh as early as Friday,” reads a message from the PAC. “It is critical we make our voices heard on the ground in Washington on Thursday.”
A spokeswoman for one of the organisers said the artistes listed are “lending their names to the cause” and it isn’t clear if they will turn up in person.
It also urges people who can’t make it to Washington to protest in their communities, too: “If there was ever a moment when the voice of the people can come together in concert to change the fate of our nation, this is it. Arm in arm, organised and ready, every child, woman, and man, must take to t he streets to protest this nomination.”